Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Thirteen brokerages give Meritage Homes a "Moderate Buy" consensus (1 sell, 6 hold, 4 buy, 2 strong buy) with an average 12‑month price target of about $84.33.
• Insider selling: CEO Phillippe Lord and EVP Javier Feliciano sold shares on Feb 23 (CEO sold 32,820 at ~$76.49), and insiders have sold 47,622 shares worth ~$3.64M in the last 90 days; insiders currently own ~2.20% of the stock.
• Recent results & dividend: Q4 EPS beat at $1.67 vs. $1.55 consensus while revenue fell 11.9% YoY to $1.44B, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 (annualized $1.92), a ~3.0% yield.

Shares of Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $84.3333.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MTH shares. Citizens Jmp started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Citigroup started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $75.00) on shares of Meritage Homes in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Meritage Homes in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at Meritage Homes

In other news, CEO Phillippe Lord sold 32,820 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.49, for a total transaction of $2,510,401.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 260,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,917,154.61. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Javier Feliciano sold 3,580 shares of Meritage Homes stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.24, for a total value of $272,939.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,935 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,425,844.40. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,622 shares of company stock worth $3,640,273. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meritage Homes

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 372 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 265.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the construction company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Meritage Homes by 194.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the construction company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Meritage Homes during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 98.44% of the company's stock.

Meritage Homes Stock Performance

NYSE MTH opened at $65.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.84. Meritage Homes has a fifty-two week low of $58.03 and a fifty-two week high of $84.74.

Meritage Homes (NYSE:MTH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The construction company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Meritage Homes had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 7.73%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.72 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Meritage Homes will post 9.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Meritage Homes Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Meritage Homes's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. Meritage Homes's dividend payout ratio is 30.38%.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes Corporation is a national homebuilder and residential developer headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Founded in 1985 as Winchester Homes and later rebranded to Meritage Homes, the company specializes in designing, constructing and selling single‐family detached and attached homes. With a focus on energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, Meritage Homes markets its properties under the GreenSmart program, which integrates high‐performance features aimed at reducing long‐term energy and water consumption for homebuyers.

The company's core activities encompass land acquisition, residential community planning, home design, construction management and real estate sales.

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